Sam, don't look to me to discourage you from buying that Volnay. I love Volnay wines! David, how close were you to the bear?--looks like closer than I would care to be. My nephew and his wife on a hike out west saw some bears and also had to scramble up a stream bank when they encountered sudden canyon flooding conditions. The park rangers had failed to inform them of the possibility of flooded areas. I'm going to a Fayetteville Wine Society meeting tonight and attending the Taste of France at the French Embassy Saturday. That might prevent any purchasing of wine for a week (unless I find myself with free time in DC prior to the tasting and in the vicinity of Macarthur's or Calvert and Woodley...)

My buying problem is largely due to online purchases. I love Wine Library and Wine.com and I'm particularly susceptible to their enticing email specials. (You've probably all seen them: "1cent shipping", "New 94 pt arrivals","92 pt Napa Cab under $30",etc.) My past buying philosophophy has been- "I'd better get a case of that" or "I NEED 2 cases of that". I've reached the point where I'm on a first-name basis with several UPS and FED-EX drivers and my credit card balances are a smaller version of the current Wall Street mess. I have much better control at the local wine shops, as my purchases are (mostly) limited to cash on hand.

I haven't ordered anything in the past month and I've been deleting those emails as the arrive, thus reducing the temptation. I have more than enough wine on hand to survive the holidays, so I could be on the road to reducing my inventory as well as debt. Only time will tell.

1. One of the few advantages of attaining a certain age is that one no longer has to shop for and thus cellar wines that will reach their peak only in another 25 years.

2. My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell, all depending on which I will have to visit first. (And from what I read, bankruptcy court in Israel is far worse than Hell)

Help, I'm about to violate probation. There was an attractive St. Emilion at the Fayetteville Wine Society meeting last night priced about $35. I didn't buy it on the spot but we have one month to put in an order at the members' price. Even worse, Carolina Wine Company sent out an e-mail about some Kermit Lynch Burgundies to which I don't usually have access. I'm tempted by the Marsanny Rouge and a Morey-St-Denis.

Art,They call it Wine Library. As far as I know, a library is where you can check something out, use it, and return it. Tell them you won't buy anything from them unless they let you borrow the bottles, consume the wine, send back the bottles and only charge you (a few cents) if you return the empties late. That should get you off their e-mail list.

I've been reigning in the purchases, but have not been able to stop all together.

One thing that has definitely helped is that I canceled all of my email subscription to wine retailers. With less temptation its easier.

I decided in August that I was not buying anything else for the rest of the year and when I told my wife she said "We're still getting the Ridge ATP and Copains, right?" Gotta love her Unfortunately this immediately destroyed my plan so it was easier to justify other "needs."

I have been doing fairly well not adding to my wine purchases till now. My dilemma is, I just received in the mail my order forms from both Leonetti and Cayuse. As you know, the wait list for Leonetti is about 6 years and 4ish for Cayuse. So, if you talk me out of ordering, it will remove me from temptation for many years to come. However, I am not sure it is a temptation from which I want to be protected.

The temptation is rising, as tomorrow is payday. The thought of a fantastic, light colored Mount Veeder Grenache from one of my favorite producers, Ramien, is intruding into my thoughts. It was almost a rose in color...light in tone, with incredible white pepper and earth and strawberry flavors. One of the best domestic Grenaches I may ever have tasted. It's only $17. At least I would not be charging it.

...(Humans) are unique in our capacity to construct realities at utter odds with reality. Dogs dream and dolphins imagine, but only humans are deluded. –Jacob Bacharach

Ted Judd wrote:I have been doing fairly well not adding to my wine purchases till now. My dilemma is, I just received in the mail my order forms from both Leonetti and Cayuse. As you know, the wait list for Leonetti is about 6 years and 4ish for Cayuse. So, if you talk me out of ordering, it will remove me from temptation for many years to come. However, I am not sure it is a temptation from which I want to be protected.

ted

Cayuse! The mysterious Cayuse, of which I've never seen a bottle (whereas I see plenty of Leonetti around). I'm pretty sure you must have that.

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov